


Unfortunate Spins

by IreneSpring



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Alex is not very graceful, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Ice Skating, Minor Injuries, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:47:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29590929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IreneSpring/pseuds/IreneSpring
Summary: When Olivia has to work on their first Valentine's Day as a married couple, Alex plans what should be a foolproof make-up date.Prompt: "I hate Valentine's Day."
Relationships: Olivia Benson/Alexandra Cabot
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12





	Unfortunate Spins

**Author's Note:**

> I enjoyed writing this one. Honestly any time I can put Alex in a comedically unfortunate situation is a good time in my book. Points to Olivia for being very patient.

“Let me guess,” Alex begins, opening the door to Olivia’s new office. “You’re not going to be able to come home tonight.”

“I’m sorry, babe. I really am, it’s just that so many people seem to forget what consent is on the supposed day of love.”

“Trust me, I get it.”

“I hate Valentine’s Day.”

“I know.”

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise. It’s just now that I’m sergeant there’s somehow even more to do-”

“Liv, I’m not trying to guilt you. I really do understand.”

“It’s our first Valentine’s Day of marriage.”

“There will be more. Besides, you just said that you hate Valentine’s day.”

“I hate the bastards not the…” Olivia trails off and gestures wildly at the papers on her desk. “You know what I mean,” she grumbles when Alex raises an eyebrow. 

“I do know. At least I can text Rafael that I’ll be free to have drinks with him. Just two people without a partner to celebrate with on Valentine’s Day.” Olivia rolls her eyes at Alex’s smirk.

“I wouldn’t count on it. We’re going to need him.”

“Fine. I’ll sit alone. In the house. Watching rom coms and thinking about the romance that could have been.”

“We both know that I’ve had cases frighteningly similar to those rom coms.”

“You’re not supposed to like them for the plot, Liv. You’re supposed to like them for the emotions they inspire. Hence me, getting into the romantic spirit of Valentine’s Day without you.”

“I hope you really get into the romantic spirit thinking about how you could be being stalked by some random dude with erotomania. Besides, we both know that the vast majority of rom coms are way too sugary for your taste. So why don’t you tell me what documentaries you’ve got queued up on HBO and I’ll tell you what you can watch without me.”

“You know me so well,” Alex sighs, putting a hand against her heart.

“Anything by Ken Burns and anything true crime is fair game.”

“You’re really letting me watch those romantic classes all by myself?” Alex asks sarcastically and Olivia laughs.

“You bet, Al. Have fun.”

“Where are we going?” Olivia asks, frowning as Alex leads her across the street to a row of buildings she knows don’t have any makeup Valentine’s Day-level restaurants.

“Trust me, Liv.”

“Alex, just tell me where we’re going-” Olivia just stops when they turn the corner and are suddenly standing in front of a giant ice rink. “I forgot this was here.”

“So did I, until I looked it up. But on Valentine’s Day, when you unceremoniously ditched me, I did follow through on your suggestion to watch an HBO documentary, and ended up landing on  _ Reflections on Ice _ , and then I remembered that date we had years ago, and you had fun, so I figured-”

“Alex, it’s a great idea.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Besides, after the whole Valentine’s debacle it’s really your choice. Where do we get skates?” Alex smiles, and once again takes Olivia’s hand to guide her.

“Right over here.”

“Liv, slow down!” Alex calls, trying to pick up some speed but almost losing her balance. “Christ, how are you so good at this?”

“It’s like riding a bike!” Olivia calls back, doing a little spin and earning herself an annoyed grunt from Alex.

“What kind of stupid-ass bike has blades on the bottom?” Alex demands. A young mother passing with her child glares and Alex mutters a quick “sorry.”

“Do you want to hold on to me for balance?” Olivia asks, pausing for a moment to allow Alex to catch up.

“No. I just need you to keep in mind that some of us have real jobs that don’t require us to learn how to move fast in all situations.”

“I guess I just thought with all that fancy gesturing you do in court you’d be a little more graceful. My mistake.”

“I’m quite graceful when I have access to the full surface area of my feet,” Alex objects, wobbling a bit and grabbing Olivia’s arm.

“Do you want to take a break?”

“I can do this.”

“This isn’t a test of strength, Al. It’s a date. You’re supposed to be having fun.”

“I am having fun,” Alex assures her. “I promise.”

“You’re complaining an awful lot for someone who’s having fun.”

“I’m trying to make you laugh,” Alex admits, fighting the urge to look down at her feet. They’re married. They’ve been together for the better part of ten years. “And to cover the fact that I suck at this.”

“You did make me laugh,” Olivia says, taking Alex’s hand. “And you don’t suck.”

“You can do  _ a spin _ .”

“As long as you can stay upright, you don’t suck. Trust me.”

“Do you want to try to teach me to spin?”

“Why not?”

“We should sue the NYPD,” Alex mutters, holding an ice pack against her ankle and glumly accepting the hot chocolate Olivia offers her with her other hand.

“Why?” Olivia laughs.

“If they hadn’t forced you to work on Valentine’s Day, we could have gone out to a nice, safe dinner, and I never would have broken my ankle.”

“It’s not broken. It isn’t even sprained.”

“It’s at least twice the size it usually is.”

“That’s not true. It’s a little swollen. I’ve seen plenty of injuries in my day, and trust me, you’ll be fine in two days.”

“Well, still. We should sue.”

“Wouldn’t any good defense attorney bring up how it was your idea to go ice skating and your idea to try a spin?”

“It’s possible.” Olivia laughs lightly and adjusts the cushions on their couch so that Alex can more comfortably recline against her.

“Al, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Why did you want to go ice skating?”

“Well I told you, there was this documentary-”

“We’ve watched lots of documentaries. They’ve never compelled you to act out any of them before.”

“We’ve gone on an ice skating date before.”

“We’ve also gone to dinner before.” Olivia puts an arm around Alex’s shoulder and carefully pulls her closer, careful not to disturb her ankle. Alex smiles, but keeps her eyes fixed on the ceiling. Finally, she looks over at Olivia with a warm expression in her eyes.

“Because the ice skating date was when I knew I wanted to propose to you.” Olivia opens her mouth slightly but no words come out. “I mean, the second time. The time that I actually stayed in one piece long enough to propose and actually get married.”

“Wow.”

“It really sucked that that date got interrupted. I had a whole conversation I wanted to have. But no, the job. So I thought it was fitting. Plans changed because of the job and romantic milestones and whatnot.”

“Yeah. And whatnot.”

“Hey. I’m trying to be honest and romantic, and not to mention I’m injured and in pain-”

“It was great, Alex. I… I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

“So I guess that explains why you were so quiet at the crime scene that night.”

“I’m sure you can imagine how annoying it was having to deal with blood and horror while also being in the throes of a romantic epiphany.”

“I actually know first hand.”

“Really?”

“You came back to SVU at a crime scene. I had about three seconds to process the return of the love of my life before I had to deal with a child molester beaten to death with a baseball bat.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Alex says with a laugh. “Bad timing, I guess.”

“We got here. That’s what matters.” Olivia leans in to peck Alex on the lips. Keeping her head close, she whispers, “happy Valentine’s Day, Al.”

**Author's Note:**

> Alex's experiences ice skating are somewhat similar to my own. On the one hand, I never injured myself that badly, but on the other hand, I couldn't stay upright without holding onto the railing around the side. I don't like ice in general. It's slippery and it attempts to hurt me.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading!


End file.
